Kidnapping charges stand for Andrew Michael Penaloza

Wednesday

Mar 26, 2014 at 5:00 PM

Staff report

The Michigan Appellate Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and sentencing of a Holland man who kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and their young son in 2012.Andrew Michael Penaloza was sentenced to 3 ½ to 20 years after he caused his ex to crash her car and kidnapped her and their son.Penaloza attempted to enter the victim’s car while she was at a walk-up ATM on March 16, 2012, and when she quickly got back in and tried to drive away, but he jumped through the open driver-side door. He bit the victim’s nose and blocked her view. She drove through the bank parking lot and over the curb. The car came to rest in 16th Street where its engine stalled.Penaloza ordered the victim to come with him and took their not-yet-2-year-old son from the back seat. Police said Penaloza ordered her and their son to get into another car, leaving the woman’s car abandoned in the street.Police believe Penaloza also beat the 18-year-old woman. She was found seriously injured later at an apartment in Holland Township. Their son also was found there unharmed, police said.“When (the victim) tried to flee the room, defendant choked her until she fell to the floor,” according to court files. He took her shoes to prevent her from escaping.They had broken up several months prior and, about two weeks before that day, the victim had gone to court to get a personal protection order against Penaloza and a temporary order giving her full custody of their two children.A jury convicted defendant Andrew Penaloza of two counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count of aggravated domestic assault, second offense.Penaloza claimed the prosecutor didn’t provide enough evidence to convict him of kidnapping his son and that he never received notice of the order granting full custody to his ex-girlfriend.He also said the victim’s injuries were minor and didn’t actually require the medical care provided, a claim the court said “has no support in law or logic.”